Polygonatum dolichocarpum (Asparagaceae), a New Species from Yunnan, China

Polygonatum Miller (Asparagales-Asparagaceae) comprises ca. 57 species (Conran & Tamura 1998). Many of the species are hemicryptophytic in deciduous or evergreen forests, grasslands and sand dunes and widely distributed in boreal to temperate zones in the Northern Hemisphere. Some species in subtropical to temperate zones from southeastern China to Thailand and the Himalaya are epiphytic. Twelve species have been reported from Yunnan, China (Chen & Tamura 2000), and 5 of the 12 species are in the Gaoligong Shan region (Li 2000). During an expedition to Gaoligong Shan in July, 2014, we found plants of Polygonatum in which the young fruits and pericladium were extremely elongate (Fig. 1A, C) and the number of ovules/seeds per locule, 9-12, was unusually high, although 2 ovules may abort when there are 12 (Fig. 1D). The plants were epiphytic in mossy (Homaliodendron) forests at ca. 2700 m elevation. All previously described species of Polygonatum, except some species of sect. Verticillata sensu Tamura (Tamura 1993), such as P. cathcartii and P. oppositifolium, which have more or less elongate ovaries, have more or less globose ovaries/fruits and a short or absent pericladium, irrespective of the stage of maturity of the fruits. Even in P. cathcartii and P. oppositifolium, however, the young fruits are not unusually long. Furthermore, all previously known species of Polygonatum have (2-)4-6(-8) ovules per locule (Conran & Tamura 1998, Chen & Tamura 2000), and no known species of Polygonatum has more than 8 ovules per locule. We therefore consider the plants from Gaoligong Shan to represent an undescribed species, which we here name, describe and illustrate. Polygonatum dolichocarpum (Asparagaceae), a New Species from Yunnan, China